Closure for pressure vessels



Sept. 22, 1942. T. TINKER CLOSURE FOR PRESSURE VESSELS Filed May 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9? am \w gr. m% p WU w pw W n w WWW T Sept. 22, 1942. T. TINKER URE FOR PRESSURE VESSELS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I IExENT R 607715497267 1 177%??? Filed May 11, 1959 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 22, 1942 CLOSURE FOR PRESSURE VESSELS Townsend Tinker, Boston, N. Y., assignor to Ross Heater & Manufacturing Co. Inc., Buflalo, k

N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 11, 1939, Serial No. 273,047

2 Claims.

This invention relates to closures for pressure vessels such as heat exchangers, for example, and more particularly is concerned with improvements in closures of the so-called high pressure type which include a removable cover adapted to take up the. greater part of the total hydrostatic thrust and an independently secured sealing member associated with the cover in such a, manner as to be subjected to only a small part of such thrust.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel design and arrangement of the parts of the closure, whereby to attain simplicity, compactness and economy in construction and facilitate assembling and dismantling operations.

A further object is to facilitate access to the sealing surfaces to enable their inspection, adjustment and replacement as occasion may demand without the necessity of removing the cover or any other heavy or unwieldy parts, this object contemplating a construction wherein the sealing member and the securing means therefor are both exteriorly located.

A still further object is to provide a closure which is adapted to provide a highly effective seal without thenecessity of accurately fitting the parts and despite an initial failure of the co-operating sealing surfaces to flrmly' engage one another throughout their entire extent.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view partially in elevation and partially in section of a heat exchanger having a closure embodying the features of the invention.

Figure 2 is an end view thereof, portions of the closure being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of closure.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in connection with a heat exchanger. The latter includes a header which is provided with a flange ii for connection to the co-operating flange 52 of the shell l3 and which is formed with inlet and outlet connections i4 and 15, respectively. The fluid medium under high pressure is introduced into the exchanger through the connection M. It enters a chamber l6 and is conducted through the shell by tubes H to a second chamber Hi from which it is discharged through the connection lt5, the chambers l6 and I8 being separated by a pass parco-operates with the partition I9 to prevent communication between the chambers l6 and I8 except by way of the tubes il. As illustrated, the cover 24 is formed with a relatively thick central portion and a rim 25 of reduced thickness. It is secured in the opening 2| against the hydrostatic thrust of the fluid medium passing through the chambers l6 and I8 by a key 26. The latter isjn the form of a ring and comprises a plurality of segments each of which is angular inpross-section, having a flange portion 21 and a hub portion 28. The flange portions of the key segments fit in an annular keyway 29 formed in the wall '20 while the hub portions overlie the rim of the cover. The thrust against the latter, therefore, is transmitted by the key segments to the wall 20. Preferably the outer edges of the hub portions of the key segments are formed with notches 28a (Figure 1) in which a suitable tool may be inserted to facilitate withdrawal ,of the segments from the keyway when it is desired to remove the cover.

A sealing member 30 is associated with the cover 24. The said member is in the shape of a ring and is formed with a substantially rigid body 3| which fits in the annular recess delimited by the hub portions of the key sections and the raised portion of the cover, the inner wall of the body 3| being undercut to conform to the shape of the cover while the outer wall is arranged in close proximity to the hub portions of the keys. The body of the sealing member, therefore, serves to hold the key segments in the keyway, the upper inner edges of the hub portions of the key segments preferably being beveled as indicated at 32 to facilitate arrangement of the sealing member in the position described during assembling operations. The body of the sealing member is formed with a flange 33 which fits into a shallow groove 34 formed in the rim of the cover and in which a gasket 35 is preferably arranged. The said flange is urged against the gasket by bolts 36. The lattition l9. At the outer end of the. header I0 ter are in the form of studs and are arranged in a circular series; they are carried by the rim of the cover; and they extend through openings 31 formed in the body 3|. The sealing member is provided with a second flange 33. The latter is connected to the body 3| by a fiat weblike bridge 39 and flts in a shallow groove 40 which is formed in the end'of the wall 23 and in which a .gasket 4| is preferably arranged.

-will be noted that the bridge 39 is thin with;

respect to. the body 3|. The bridge is so designed that, although of a strength greater than requiredto resist the fluid pressure to which it is subjected, it will bend.when the bolts 36 and 43 are tightened, whereby to effect relative movement between the flanges 33 and 38 to a degree accommodate the flange 46 while the end wall which will insure proper coaction with their respective seats. v a

From the foregoing it will be apparent that of the total hydrostatic load to which the closure is subjected the greater. part is taken up by the cover, and hence is transmitted to the wall 20, while only a small part of such load is taken up by the sealing member. .The bolts 36 and 43, therefore, are only under moderate stress and as their primary function is to maintain. the gaskets 35 and 4| under the proper sealing pressure, the joints to be sealed may be easily maintained leak-proof with relatively small bolts. In this connection it will be noted that the flanges 33 and 38 are located exteriorly ofthe cover, as are the bolts 36 and 43. Hence if a leak should develop its location can be determined by inspection and if it is caused by improper tightening of the bolts the leak may be stopped without removing any of the closure parts. If, on the other hand, a leak should occur as a rethe sealing member. The grooves 34 and 40 and gaskets will thereby be fully exposed to view. Thus in this case also the necessity of removing i sult of a defective gasket it is necessary to enable replacement of the latter to remove only any ofthe heavy or unwieldy parts of the closure is avoided. The exteriorlocation of the sealing member and bolts has the further advantage that it enables the sizes of the various parts of the closure to be predetermined with respect to their individual loads. The use of large amounts of metal operating under low stresses is thus avoided and the reduction which is thereby achieved in the sizes of the parts, together with the arrangement of the latter in the manner described, insures a construction which is not only simple and economical but which' is also compact.

A modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figure 4. In this embodiment the sealing member, indicated at 45, is in one piece and includes a body 46, a ring flange 4|,'both relatively rigid, and a web-like bridge 46 which is in the form of an arch and which is deformable in the manner and for the purpose described in connection with the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1.

The body and ring flange are provided with flanges 49 and 56, respectively, the rim of the cover being formed witha shallow groove 5| to of the header is formed with a similar groove to accommodate the flange 53. Gaskets 52 are preferably arranged in the grooves 5|, there being a series of bolts 53 carried by the cover which are tightened to force the flange 49 against one of the gaskets and a second series of bolts 54 carried by the wall of the header which are tightened to force the flange 50 against the other gasket. It will thus be apparent that the present embodiment diflers from that shown in Figure 1 only in the respects that the sealing member is in one piece instead of two and that the deformable bridge is arched instead of flat. In other respects the two closures illustrated and described are generally similar; their parts function in substantially the same manner; and their use enables the attainment of the advantages heretofore noted. It is to be understood that the use of grooves and gaskets in connection with the sealing member isintended by way of example only and that the cooperating sealing surfaces may be provided, if desired, without the use of either.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pressure vessel having a wall which defines an opening and which is formed with an annular keyway and a seat, a cover which fits in said opening and which is formed to provide a second seat, a key for transmitting to said wall the pressure exerted against said cover, said key comprising a plurality of sections, each of which is formed with a hub portion, flts in said keyway and overlies the marginal edge of said ccver, said hub portions extending outwardly beyond said keyway and being formed in their outer faces with notches in which a tool may be inserted to effect withdrawal of the key sections from said keyway, a sealing member which is arranged over. said key, which prevents displacement of the sections of the latter from said keyway, and which fits against both of said seats and means for forcing said sealing member against said seats with a pressure adequate to seal the joints thus provided.

2. A pressure vessel having an end wall which defines an opening and which is formed with an annular keyway and a seat, a cover which fits in said opening and which is formed to provide a second seat, an annular sectional. key in said keyway for transmitting to said end wall the pressure exerted against said cover, each of said key sections having a hub portion which extends outwardly from said keyway in close proximity to said wall, aseal which is engageable with both of said seats, said seal comprising inner and outer, non-deformable, annular flanges and a connecting deformable bridge, said inner flange being located within the area delimited by said flange into said area and the outer faces being formed with notches in which a tool may be inserted, after detachment of said-flanges, to effect removal of said key sections from said keyway.

TOWNSEND TINKER. 

